I'm watching a handful of Chaplin before his films get removed from the Netflix. Might be for the best that this gets taken off of Netflix cause it's a cut with a narrator explaining every thing which takes away so much fun a silent film should have. The rating would be lower if I judged it purely off the narrator cut and not the original silent release

As hundreds of prospectors rush to the Alaskan permafrost in search of buried fortune, Charlie Chaplin tags along to misguidedly seek their scraps. Entirely unprepared for the harsh climate, he soon finds himself trapped in a small cabin during a snowstorm, along with an on-the-lam criminal and an increasingly insane fellow gold-seeker. That setup is good for a stretch of claustrophobic mayhem, but it's not until the storm ends and the trio split up that things start getting really good. The pace can feel slow at times, pausing to squeeze as much anticipation from each scene as possible, but that all seems worthwhile when everything comes together in the final act. At worst, it's a little drawn-out. At best, a brilliant display of creative scene-setting and cinematic trickery. Chaplin is able to do so much with such limited means, it doesn't even matter that we can see through a few of his visual illusions. In a way, that makes it even more endearing, like a magician who lifts the curtain mid-trick for a sly wink. The Gold Rush is loaded with such ideas; crazy, larger-than-life concepts that work through hustle and sheer power of will. It also bubbles over with little personal moments from the star, whose aloof charisma still shines like a beacon through so many years.

It is hard to appreciate Chaplin's films in the same way that audiences did when first released. The landscape of films has changed dramatically since its release. However, what is easy to see is the genius of Chaplin's central character, The Tramp, who is endearing and you can't help but root for him. Whilst not laugh out loud funny to an audience raised on films that have used, copied and refined the comedy Chaplin celebrated, the antics of his character still raise a smile and modern comedies could take a note from Chaplin and his iconic character.

For being one of Charlie Chaplin most favorite film that he wish to be remembered for though he was referring to the 1942 edit, The Gold Rush doesn’t fail to amaze me and I see why. From the cabin scene to the cliff scene, it’s pretty amazing with its comedy and then see friendship between Chaplin and the Big Jim character evolve over the film. It’s now I realized that some of the gags in The Gold Rush that I’ve seen in like cartoons most likely have originated from this film and it’s pretty good to hear about.

This will be my last Chaplin movie from the IMDb top 250 and I can honestly say that I like it. The humor is still outdated, but it was easier to like than City Lights for me. I just like the story, I guess. Honest question: was this the first time that we saw the “I’m so hungry the person with me turns into food-hallucination”? I almost can’t imagine that it was done earlier than 1925, but can’t seem to find the answer on Google. If so, than that alone is super influential (mostly for cartoons 😉).